At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Washington based Director operating in the Non Profit space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Joseph Broz
Director, National Security Program Development of SRI International
Joseph Broz, Ph.D., is director of national security program development in SRI International’s Advanced Technology and Systems Division. He brings 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, and deep subject matter expertise in solid state physics, nuclear magnetic resonance, the energy domain, gas and oil recovery, alternative fossil production, renewable energy, and energy security. His experience also includes significant projects in homeland security, defense, and in the areas of climate change, environmental protection and remediation. Before joining SRI in 2014, Broz worked for the Spectrum Group in Alexandria, VA from 2005 to 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he was a Senior Fellow in the Security, Energy, and Environment department at NORC at the University of Chicago. He is also the managing member of Defense Capital Advisors, LLC, a technical consulting firm, founded in 2000. From 1992 to 2000, Broz served in four senior management positions at Tenneco and at TIMET in the U.S. and Europe; He was the laboratory, environmental, and quality director at Tenneco, and served as vice president of business development and laboratory director for the Titanium Metals Corporation. Broz served as a White House Fellow and as a Special Assistant to the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Special Assistant to Allan Bromley, Science Advisor to President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and 1992. He has been a member of the Homeland Security Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute since 2002, which supported the 9-11 Commission in its recommendations on private sector preparedness. He has worked closely with state governors and national laboratories on renewable energy and economic development issues around energy, economic development, and technology transfer. Broz has also participated on a number of international commissions and boards regulating industrial standards including ISO, and is a technical advisor to several ANSI standards working groups and committees. A former British-American Fellow of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1995), Broz is a member the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Swiss Physical Society. He has published numerous technical papers, and has been awarded several U.S. and foreign patents. Broz has a B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Ph.D. in physics is from the Swiss Federal Institute (ETH) in Zurich.
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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
John Young
Director of SRI International
John Young, appointed to SRI’s Board in 2009, brings a broad range of legislative and executive branch experience on defense technology, development, and procurement programs.
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About E6 Partner, JY Strategies, SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.
Bernadette Meehan
Executive Director of International Programs of Obama Foundation
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About Obama Foundation: The Obama Foundation is a start-up for citizenship and an ongoing project for people to shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen.
Scott Dworkin
Executive Director of Democratic Coalition Against Trump
Scott Dworkin is the Founder and President of Bulldog Finance Group and was a Senior Advisor on both the Draft Biden and Run Warren Run campaigns. He is also a veteran of both the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns. To date, Scott has worked in all 50 states.. Scott also serves on the Advisory Boards for the New Leaders Council and Democratic GAIN. He was named to the Campaigns & Elections Magazine’s 2011 class of Rising Stars. He received a BA in Political Science and a BA in Sociology at North Carolina State University.
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About Democratic Coalition Against Trump: Democratic Coalition Against Trump is the home of the anti-Trump movement.
Constance Tzioumis
Director of Partnerships, The Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships of U.S. Department of State
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About The Awesome Foundation, U.S. Department of State: The United States Department of State, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the leading foreign affairs agency of the United States.
Stephen Colbert
Member of the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose
Stephen is the host, writer and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central as well as an accomplished author and actor. Recently, he starred as Harry in the New York Philharmonic presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” along with Jon Cryer, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Patti LuPone and Martha Plimpton, among others. “The Colbert Report” launched on October 17, 2005 and has received a prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in 2008 and 18 Primetime Emmy nominations. In 2010, Stephen and his writing team won the show’s second Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. “The Colbert Report” deployed to Iraq in June 2009 on a USO tour entitled “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” to tape and perform shows in front of the troops. “The Colbert Report” is the first TV show in USO history to produce a week of shows in a combat zone. Stephen’s book, I AM AMERICA (And So Can You!), spent 29 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller’s List; debuting and occupying the #1 spot for 13 weeks. The Colbert Report opened 2010 updated for high-definition broadcast and sporting a brand-new set. Iconic items from the original set, including Stephen’s “C” desk, interview table and portrait, were auctioned off to benefit the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development effort. Born and raised near Charleston, South Carolina, Stephen graduated from Northwestern University and quickly made a name for himself as a member of Chicago’s famed Second City improv troupe where he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. The threesome moved to New York City where they created and starred in “Exit 57,” a half-hour sketch comedy series which ran for three seasons on Comedy Central. “Exit 57” received five CableACE nominations for Best Writing, Performing and Comedy Series. Stephen reunited with Sedaris and Dinello to create Comedy Central’s first-ever live-action narrative series, the cult hit “Strangers with Candy.” Colbert’s other on-camera appearances include shows such as HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and NBC’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He was a cast member and writer on ABC’s “The Dana Carvey Show,” wrote for “Saturday Night Live” and was the voice of Ace on the “SNL” animated series “The Ambiguously Gay Duo.” He was also the voice of the President of the United States in Dreamworks animated film, “Monsters Vs. Aliens.”
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About : DonorsChoose is a nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers.
Beth Gombala
Creative Director of Internet Society
Marketing Communications Manager at Internet Society
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About Internet Society: The Internet Society engages in a wide spectrum of internet issues, including policy, governance, technology, and development.
Marshall Fitz
Managing Director, Immigration of Emerson Collective
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About Center for American Progress – CAP, Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.
Alister Smith
Executive Director at World Bank Group for Canada, Ireland & Caribbean of THE WORLD BANK
Alister Smith is Executive Director for Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the World Bank Group since January 2014. Prior to the World Bank Group, he held a number of senior positions in the Canadian government, including Senior Advisor to the Privy Council Office and Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board. Earlier, he was General Director of the International Trade and Finance branch of the Department of Finance. In that capacity, he served as Alternate Governor for the regional development banks. Previously, he worked for CIBC, a Canadian bank, as Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. Mr. Smith was educated in economics at Queen’s University and Carleton University. More recently, he completed the Directors’ Education program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Smith is on the International Advisory Committee of the Institute for the Study of Development (ISID) at McGill University.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Jorg Frieden
Executive Director of Swiss National of THE WORLD BANK
Jörg Giovanni Frieden, a Swiss national, serves as Executive Director on the Board of the World Bank Group since March 2011, and represents nine constituency countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since 2013, he is the Chairman of the Board’s Budget Committee. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Frieden was an Advisor to the Swiss Executive Director at the World Bank. Between 1986 and 2003, Mr. Frieden held positions at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in different capacities: Country Director in Mozambique and Nepal, and Head of the East and Southern Africa Division. From 1992 to 1993, he was responsible for the UN-led Civilian Component of the Demobilization Program in Maputo, Mozambique, and from 1999 to 2003, he was a Vice Director at the Federal Office for Migration, in Berne, Switzerland, and responsible for the Directorate of Finance and Social Affairs. Mr. Frieden earned a PhD in Economics in 1982 from the University of Fribourg. He also holds a license degree in Economics from the same university.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Merza Hasan
Dean of the Board of Executive Directors of THE WORLD BANK
Merza Hasan, a Kuwaiti national, was elected in 2006 to represent thirteen countries as Executive Director to the World Bank Group. Additionally, in 2012, Mr. Hasan became the Dean of the Board of Executive Directors. As an Executive Director, Mr. Hasan has a dual responsibility, as he represents the interests and concerns of his constituency to the Boards and the Bank’s management, as well as the interests and concerns of the Bank to the group of countries that elected him. In his role, Mr. Hasan considers and decides on the proposals made by the President on: IBRD loans and guarantees, IDA credits and grants, IFC investments, MIGA guarantees; and decides on policies that impact the World Bank’s general operations. He was the Undersecretary of the Industrial Sector in Kuwait, and held various positions at the University of Kuwait and the Embassy of Kuwait in the United States, as well as the private sector. Mr. Hasan was also a Board Member of several institutions. Mr. Hasan holds a Ph.D in Management Science from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, U.K. Mr. Hasan had a diverse career prior to assuming his position at the World Bank.
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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Vera Songwe
Country Director of THE WORLD BANK
Ms. Vera Songwe is the International Finance Corporation (IFC – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) Director for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar. She oversees the corporations’ investment decisions and public relations in these countries. Prior to joining the IFC, she was Country Director of the World Bank Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau. Ms. Songwe joined the World Bank Group as a Young Professional. She has experience working in the Middle East and North Africa and extensive experience on the East Asia and Pacific region where she worked as a policy economist on micro and macroeconomic issues as well supporting project implementation in the area of fiscal policy, trade, and governance among others.
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About THE WORLD BANK: The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.
Gadi Ben-Yehuda
Social Media Director of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Gadi Ben-Yehuda is the Social Media Director for the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator for events with State Department, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and other agencies. He has also delivered presentations both nationally and internationally, at SxSW Interactive, the Global eGovernment Forum in Seoul, South Korea, and conferences in venues ranging from Washington, DC, to New York City, and Las Vegas, NV, to Burlington, VT. He is a prolific writer, with articles appearing on the Center’s blog, in Government Executive and Fast CoExist. He is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Vine. Mr. Ben-Yehuda has worked on the Web since 1994, when he received an email from Maya Angelou through his first Web site. He has an MFA in poetry from American University, has taught writing at Howard University, and has worked in Washington, DC, for nonprofits, lobbying organizations, and government.
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About American Association for the Advancement of Science: American Association For The Advancement Of Science promotes scientific education, science outreach, cooperation among scientists, and more.
Shirley Malcom
Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs of American Association for the Advancement of Science
Dr. Shirley Malcom directs Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This includes programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. In addition to Digital Promise, Dr. Malcom serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments and Public Agenda. She is a Regent of Morgan State University and a trustee of Caltech. Dr. Malcom has chaired several national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. She is a fellow of AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; served on the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation (1994 to 1998) and on the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1994-2001). Dr. Malcom received her Ph.D. in ecology from Penn State; masters in zoology from UCLA; and B.S. with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. She holds 16 honorary degrees. In 2003 Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.
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About American Association for the Advancement of Science: American Association For The Advancement Of Science promotes scientific education, science outreach, cooperation among scientists, and more.
John Crews
Staff Director, Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance & Investment of United States Senate
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About United States Senate: U.S. Senate is a legislative chamber in the bicameral legislature of the United States of America.
Rima Cohen
Managing Director, Health Innovators Fellowship of The Aspen Institute
Rima Cohen is the former counselor for health policy to the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services where she advised the Secretary on a range of health care matters and helped to develop and lead Obama Administration initiatives related to programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Office for Civil Rights. During her tenure, Ms. Cohen also stepped in to lead the Department’s planning and evaluation office for six months. As the Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Ms. Cohen advised the Secretary on policy development in areas that include health care, disability, human services, and science; and she provided advice and analysis on economic policy. Prior to assuming this position, Cohen was the Director of Health and Social Services for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where she oversaw the City’s health care programs and agencies, including Medicaid, the City’s public hospital and health care system, and the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Cohen also spent a decade on Capitol Hill as former-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle’s senior health policy advisor, and she founded and directed Insurance Options for the Uninsured (IOU), a project sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Foundation that developed and implemented strategies for expanding health insurance coverage in New York. In that position, she developed the original blueprint for the state’s Family Health Plus program – a Medicaid expansion enacted in 2000 that covers up to 500,000 low-income adults – and she created the first web-based tool linking New Yorkers with free and low-cost health and social services. Cohen has a master’s degree in public affairs, with a concentration in economics, from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan; she also did undergraduate work at the London School of Economics. After graduate school, Cohen was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study program evaluation methods employed by U.S. NGOs operating in Indonesia. Ms. Cohen sits on the board of the California-based non-profit organization, Social Interest Solutions, and she is on the advisory board of a health care IT start up. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and daughter.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Maureen Conway
Vp For Policy Programs, Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program of The Aspen Institute
Maureen Conway serves as Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute and as Executive Director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program (EOP). Ms. Conway founded EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (AspenWSI) and has headed up workforce research at the Aspen Institute since 1999. She leads a team of researchers and consultants in a variety of initiatives to identify and advance strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today’s labor market. A featured speaker at numerous national and regional conferences, she is a nationally recognized expert in sectoral, or industry-specific, workforce development and has been quoted in a variety of news media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Journal and National Public Radio’s Market Place. Under her leadership, EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative has investigated the outcomes of sectoral workforce development, provided innovation seed grants to leading programs in order to illuminate promising practices and explored key operating features of programs in specific industry sectors. Maureen is the author of numerous publications including research reports, case studies and policy briefs, including co-editing, together with Robert P. Giloth, the book Connecting People to Work: Workforce Intermediaries and Sector Strategies, a collection that brings perspectives from philanthropy, policy, research, and practice, together to chart how sector-based workforce development has evolved and the implications for the future. Recently, Maureen led the creation of the Working in America and Reinventing Low Wage Work speaker series at the Aspen Institute, bringing together voices from business, worker advocacy, media, academia and others to discuss the challenges experienced by many in today’s labor markets and new ideas for addressing these challenges. In addition, her current work includes multi-year evaluations of several promising innovations in workforce development and a new project exploring an emerging practice of work that strives to create economic stability as a platform for economic mobility by engaging in strategies that seek to improve job quality while also helping workers improve their job skills. Ms. Conway’s previous experience includes consulting for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and work for the U.S. Peace Corps, where she advised on the design, management, and evaluation of the organization’s economic development programs in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Maureen has an M.B.A. from Columbia University, a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, and a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Holy Cross College.
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About Aspen Institute Italy, Aspen Institute Italy, Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Joanna Smith Ramani
Associate Director of The Aspen Institute
Joanna Smith-Ramani is the Associate Director at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, leading the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), a first-of-its-kind initiative in the field of consumer finance designed to accelerate knowledge synthesis and problem solving among a wide cross section of experts from applied, academic, government, and industry settings working on critical dimensions of financial security. Prior to joining FSP, Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at the D2D Fund, leading the unit that designs, tests, and evaluates promising financial service innovations. Joanna has led national and state legislative campaigns, resulting in the passage of a federal law and over 10 state laws expanding a savings innovation. Joanna holds a master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Baltimore and Maryland CASH Board.
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About The Aspen Institute, The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Eric Liu
Executive Director of The Aspen Institute
Eric Liu is the founder and CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. He is the author of several books, including “You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen,” “A Chinaman’s Chance,” “The Gardens of Democracy,” and “The Accidental Asian.” Eric served as a White House speechwriter and policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. He is a regular columnist for CNN.com and a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com.
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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
Arthur Brooks
President & Board of Directors of American Enterprise Institute
Arthur C. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise at AEI.Immediately before joining AEI, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Brooks is the author of 10 books and hundreds of articles on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness, and the morality of free enterprise. His latest book, “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise” (2012) was a New York Times bestseller. Among his earlier books are “Gross National Happiness” (2008), “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008), and “Who Really Cares” (2006). Before pursuing his work in public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain. Brooks is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows and has been published widely in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Brooks has a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in policy analysis from RAND Graduate School. He also holds an M.A. in economics from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in economics from Thomas Edison State College.
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About American Enterprise Institute: Tech Policy Daily offers research and commentary on broadband, FCC policy, cybersecurity, and competition in high-tech industries.
Soumya Sanyal
Director, Engineering Efficiency, Digital Innovation Group of Providence Health & Services
Soumya Sanyal is director of engineering efficiency at Providence, where he leads the teams that tackle reliability engineering, developer experience, and quality engineering for the company’s Digital Innovation Group.
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About Providence Digital Innovation Group, Providence Health & Services: Providence Health & Services is third largest not-for-profit health system in the United States
Gretchen Kalonji
Assistant Director of General for Natural Sciences of UNESCO
Dr Gretchen Kalonji is Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO. Dr Kalonji has served in various leadership roles in the University of California system, including as Director of International Strategy Development at the UC Office of the President, where her responsibility was to lead in the design and implementation of the first coordinated and comprehensive international strategy for the ten-campus UC system, and as Director of Systemwide Research Development. Dr Kalonji came to the UC from the University of Washington, where she served as Kyocera Professor of Materials Science from 1990 to 2005. Prior to 1990 she was Assistant and then Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Her work, both in materials science and in research and educational innovation, has been recognized with multiple honors and awards. She holds or has held visiting faculty appointments at the Max Planck Institute (Stuttgart), the University of Paris, Tohoku University, Sichuan University, Tsinghua University and the newly established Peking University Graduate School in Shenzhen. Dr Kalonji was educated at MIT, receiving her Ph.D. in 1982.
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About UNESCO: UNESCO encourages international peace and universal respect for human rights by promoting collaboration among nations.
Agustin Silvani
Managing Director of Conservation International
Agustin Silvani heads CI’s Conservation Finance Division (CFD), which is dedicated to the development and financing of pioneering solutions for lasting change in environmental conservation. For more than a decade, CFD has been one of the most active investors in global conservation, raising and deploying with partners over $250million through varied mechanisms such as trust funds, debt swaps, loans, carbon finance, conservation agreements, and payment for ecosystem services. Working with local partners, we have impacted over 50 million hectares and thousands of people that depend on nature for their wellbeing. Many long-term conservation and sustainability projects, once created, lack the funding and structure to be effective over the length of time necessary to ensure lasting results. As a leading thinker in the field of conservation finance, Agustin has been responsible for creating and executing innovative financial mechanisms to encourage more investment in conservation, including the largest privately financed avoided deforestation project and first sustainable fisheries fund. These projects help support everything from coffee growing farmers in the Amazon to Maasai communities that wish to maintain their traditional ways of life, knowing that finding natural solutions to human problems offers huge un-tapped potential. Agustin moved to CI from the private sector with the goal of using public-private finance to drive natural capital conservation and low carbon development, primarily by catalyzing the growth of ecosystem service markets.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.
Vikas Mahajan
Senior Director, Information Security of American Red Cross
Vikas Mahajan, CISSP, is Sr. Director, Information Security Operations, for the American Red Cross. With more than two decades of experience, his areas of responsibility include Identity Management, Threat and Vulnerability Protection, PCI compliance and Data Loss Prevention. Prior to joining the Red Cross, he served in Executive and Management positions with LIkeMinds consulting, AARP, and PwC’s security and privacy practice.
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About American Red Cross: The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and education.
Muzaffar Chishti
Director, MPI’s office at NYU School of Law of Migration Policy Institute
Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer, is Director of MPI’s office at New York University School of Law. His work focuses on U.S. immigration policy at the federal, state, and local levels; the intersection of labor and immigration law; immigration enforcement; civil liberties; and immigrant integration. Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Chishti was Director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE). Mr. Chishti is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Law Center and serves on the boards of the New York Immigration Coalition and the Asian American Federation. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Forum and as a member of the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Committee on Immigration. Mr. Chishti has testified extensively on immigration policy issues before Congress and is frequently quoted in the media. In 1992, as part of a U.S. team, he assisted the Russian Parliament in drafting its legislation on forced migrants and refugees. He is a 1994 recipient of the New York State Governor’s Award for Outstanding Asian Americans and a 1995 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Mr. Chishti was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; the University of Delhi; Cornell Law School; and the Columbia School of International Affairs.
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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.
Michelle Mittelstadt
Director of Communications and Public Affairs of Migration Policy Institute
Michelle Mittelstadt is MPI’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs and is responsible for developing and implementing the Institute’s strategic communications, coordinating public and media outreach and events, managing the editing and publishing process, and overseeing the Institute’s websites, social media platforms, and publication of its online journal, the Migration Information Source. A veteran journalist, she joined MPI after covering immigration policy, Congress, and border-related issues in the Washington bureaus of The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle. She has written hundreds of articles examining U.S. immigration policy, border and interior enforcement, and the post-9/11 legislative and executive branch changes that have altered the immigration landscape. She also covered the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Prior to coming to Washington, Ms. Mittelstadt was an editor with The Associated Press in Dallas and managing editor of The Courier Herald in Dublin, Ga. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in global studies from the University of Georgia.
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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.
Ken Crognale
Director of Finance and Administration of Migration Policy Institute
Ken Crognale is Director of Finance and Administration at the Migration Policy Institute and is responsible for finance and accounting, human resources, office operations, and grants administration. Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Crognale held senior roles in the accounting and finance departments at the Landon School, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Earlier in his career, he worked in the banking regulation sector of the U.S. federal government. Mr. Crognale is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than 15 years in the not-for-profit sector. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and did additional coursework in accounting and finance at American University.
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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.
Ken Crognale
Director of Finance and Administration of Migration Policy Institute
Ken Crognale is Director of Finance and Administration at the Migration Policy Institute and is responsible for finance and accounting, human resources, office operations, and grants administration. Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Crognale held senior roles in the accounting and finance departments at the Landon School, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Earlier in his career, he worked in the banking regulation sector of the U.S. federal government. Mr. Crognale is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than 15 years in the not-for-profit sector. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and did additional coursework in accounting and finance at American University.
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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.
Doris Meissner
Senior Fellow and Director of Migration Policy Institute
Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is a Senior Fellow at MPI, where she directs the Institute’s U.S. immigration policy work. Her responsibilities focus in particular on the role of immigration in America’s future and on administering the nation’s immigration laws, systems, and government agencies. Her work and expertise also include immigration and politics, immigration enforcement, border control, cooperation with other countries, and immigration and national security. She has authored and coauthored numerous reports, articles, and op-eds and is frequently quoted in the media. She served as Director of MPI’s Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future, a bipartisan group of distinguished leaders. The group’s report and recommendations address how to harness the advantages of immigration for a 21st century economy and society. From 1993-2000, she served in the Clinton administration as Commissioner of the INS, then a bureau in the U.S. Department of Justice. Her accomplishments included reforming the nation’s asylum system; creating new strategies for managing U.S. borders; improving naturalization and other services for immigrants; shaping new responses to migration and humanitarian emergencies; strengthening cooperation and joint initiatives with Mexico, Canada, and other countries; and managing growth that doubled the agency’s personnel and tripled its budget. She first joined the Justice Department in 1973 as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Attorney General. She served in various senior policy posts until 1981, when she became Acting Commissioner of the INS and then Executive Associate Commissioner, the third-ranking post in the agency. In 1986, she joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Senior Associate. Ms. Meissner created the Endowment’s Immigration Policy Project, which evolved into the Migration Policy Institute in 2001. Ms. Meissner’s board memberships include CARE-USA and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Pacific Council on International Diplomacy, the National Academy of Public Administration, the Administrative Conference of the United States, and the Constitution Society.
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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.
Dawn Hawkins
Executive Director of Morality In Media
Dawn Hawkins is MIM’s Executive Director and Director of Pornography Harms, which encompasses all of MIM’s educational efforts. Prior to being hired by MIM in February 2011, she was a volunteer working for several hours each week for Mr. Trueman. Her duties included research and writing for PornHarms.com and directing volunteers for the site, development of the Pornography Harms Facebook, Youtube, and Livestream sites and coordination of two conferences on pornography. While volunteering for Mr. Trueman during the fourteen months, she was employed by a political consulting firm helping businesses and political candidates utilize digital strategies to reach expansive audiences and raise funds. Her expertise in social networking and digital strategies contributed to the successful election of several high-profile candidates in the 2010 election cycle. Dawn has worked on a number of high-profile political campaigns, including Romney for President in 2008. Dawn is a graduate of Tufts University and currently resides with her husband, Michael in Arlington, VA.
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About Morality In Media: Morality In Media The leading National Organization opposing pornography and indecency through public education and application of the law.
Steve Ewell
Executive Director & Consumer Technology Association Foundation of Consumer Technology Association
Stephen Ewell is the Executive Director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation.
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About 48 Fields, Consumer Technology Association: CTA brings a strong, collective voice to advocate on behalf of the entrepreneurs, technologists and innovators.
Darrell West
Vice President and Director, Center for Technology Innovation of The Brookings Institution
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
Aaron Klein
Policy Director of the Center on Regulation and Markets of The Brookings Institution
Aaron Klein is a fellow in Economic Studies and serves as policy director of the Center on Regulation and Markets. He focuses on financial regulation and technology, macroeconomics, and infrastructure finance and policy. Previously, Klein directed the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative and served at the Treasury Department as deputy assistant secretary for economic policy. Prior to his appointment as deputy assistant secretary in 2009, he served as Chief Economist of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for Chairmen Chris Dodd and Paul Sarbanes. He worked on financial regulatory reform issues including crafting and helping secure passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. He also played leading roles on housing finance reform, transportation and infrastructure policy. Klein is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Woodrow Wilson School for Public Affairs at Princeton University.
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
Martin Indyk
Vice President and Director of The Brookings Institution
Martin Indyk is an American diplomat who has served in senior positions in the U.S. presidential administrations of Clinton, Bush ’43 and Obama. He was twice U.S. Ambassador to Israel, President Clinton’s Middle East Advisor in the National Security Council, President Obama’s Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. From 2001 to 2018, Dr. Indyk managed, built-out and raised funds for the Brookings Institution, a think tank with an annual budget of $100 million. Dr. Indyk currently serves as a distinguished fellow and director of executive education at the Council on Foreign Relations and on several boards, including the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Australia, the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Investment Initiative, the Israel Democracy Institute and America Abroad Media. He received a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Ph.D. in international relations from the Australian National University.
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
Mark Muro
Senior Fellow and Policy Director of The Brookings Institution
Mark Muro, a senior fellow and the director of policy at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, leads the program’s advanced and inclusive economy activities. Mark is an expert on regional technology ecosystems and economic development and has published extensively on manufacturing, digital trends, energy issues, and regional industry clusters. Mark’s most recent work has focused on the industry underpinnings of building an “advanced economy that works for all.” Mark is currently leading working the “digitization” of the economy and recently released a major state and metro benchmarking report entitled “America’s Advanced Industries: New Trends.” In recent years Muro has led the development of state advanced industries strategies for Rhode Island, Tennessee’s automotive industry, and Colorado’s space / aerospace sector and wrote the report “Powering Advanced Industries, State by State.” Mark is also an advisor to the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute and the author of numerous publications on regional technology ecosystems and economic development strategies, including “The New `Cluster Moment’: How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy.” Mark holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a master’s degree in American studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
David Wessel
Senior Fellow & Director of The Brookings Institution
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
Amy Liuv
Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution
An expert on metropolitan areas, Amy Liu is committed to helping city leaders make their cities more prosperous and inclusive. Liu combines empirical analysis with on-the-ground research to identify local challenges and design strategies to address them. She recently authored Remaking Economic Development: The Markets and Civics of Continuous Growth and Prosperity to explain why city leaders should abandon inefficient strategies to promote economic growth and articulate how they can embrace a broader vision that connects more people to opportunity. And she’s in a position to know, having worked variously with city leaders in Chicago, Kansas City, Phoenix and New Orleans, to name just a few.
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
David Wessel
Senior Fellow & Director of The Brookings Institution
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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.
Karen O’Keefe
Director of State Policies of Marijuana Policy Project
As MPP’s director of state policies, Karen O’Keefe manages MPP’s grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in state legislatures.Karen has worked at MPP since 2003. She played a significant role in MPP’s successful medical marijuana campaigns in Montana (2004) and Rhode Island (2006). Karen has managed MPP’s state legislative department during medical marijuana victories in Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Illinois, and during successful decriminalization campaigns in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont. She is responsible for updating MPP’s model legislation, which formed the basis for several laws. In 2011, she was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to serve on the state’s medical marijuana work group.Karen earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service award and the Crowe Scholar award. She is admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia.
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About Marijuana Policy Project, MPP Global: Marijuana Policy Project is a U.S-based organization focused solely on ending marijuana prohibition.
Scott Snyder
Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director, Program on U.S.-Korea Policy of The Council on Foreign Relations
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About The Council on Foreign Relations: Council on Foreign Relations operates as a non-partisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher.
Ben Moskowitz
Director of Development, R&D and Innovation of International Rescue Committee
Ben Moskowitz bridges open web R&D with innovators inside news and media organizations, foundations and industry. He has led development on Popcorn.js, Popcorn Maker, the Knight Mozilla news fellows, and other initiatives in Mozilla’s portfolio of media projects. Ben previously founded the Open Video Alliance, a coalition dedicated to promoting free and open technologies, policies and practices in online video, and the Open Video Conference, a gathering of international technology, creative, and policy experts driving innovation in web video. Ben also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.
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About International Rescue Committee: IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises & helps some of the most vulnerable people from harm to home.
Marco Torres
Director of Story of Digital Promise
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About Apple, Digital Promise: Digital Promise provides support to advance technologies that can transform teaching and learning.
Alfred Solis
Director of Professional Services of Digital Promise
Alfred comes to Digital Promise from the Buck Institute for Education(BIE), where he was the director of innovation. Alfred developed and identified education technologies and online resources to support and advance project-based learning. He co-developed BIE’s flagship PBL 101 Workshop and co-authored the “PBL 101 Workbook.” Alfred also established the online curriculum and classes for PBLU. Prior to the BIE, Alfred taught math & physics at High Tech High in San Diego. Alfred graduated with honors in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Alfred then chose a career with Andersen Consulting, currently Accenture, doing business/internet consulting and later joined a Bay Area venture fund.
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About Accenture, Digital Promise, XQ Institute: Digital Promise provides support to advance technologies that can transform teaching and learning.
Adwoa Jones
Director, Human Resources of The Atlantic Council
Adwoa Jones is Director, Human Resources @ Atlantic Council.
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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Barry Pavel
Vice President and Director of The Atlantic Council
Barry Pavel is Vice President and Director @ Atlantic Council.
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About The Atlantic Council, The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Colleen D’Orazio
Associate Director, Development Operations of The Atlantic Council
Colleen D’Orazio is Associate Director, Development Operations @ Atlantic Council.
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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Karl Hopkins
Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council
Karl Hopkins is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.
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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
John Schmitz
Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council
John Schmitz is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.
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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Thomas Egan
Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council
Thomas Egan is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.
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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Frances Burwell
Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations of The Atlantic Council
Frances Burwell is Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations @ Atlantic Council.
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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Paula Stern
Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council
Paula Stern is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.
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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Frances Burwell
Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations of The Atlantic Council
Frances Burwell is Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations @ Atlantic Council.
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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges
Don Thibeau
Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Open Identity Exchange (OIX)
Don Thibeau is the Executive Director of The OpenID Foundation. Thibeau is also Chairman of the Board of the Open Identity Exchange (OIX), a non-profit, technology-agnostic, multi-tenant platform for certification listing services and trust frameworks for identity authentication in global internet and telecommunications applications. OIX was the first US government-authorized certification authority and was founded by companies including Google, PayPal, AT&T, Symantec, Verizon and Equifax. His expertise includes the data, identity and social layers of identity authentication and authorization. He has held senior management positions with Kodak, LexisNexis, Qsent and TransUnion. Thibeau, a former Presidential appointee, has testified before Congress and speaks and writes white papers on data privacy, identity standards and technologies and related regulatory issues. He blogs on these issues at openid.net.
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About : The Open Identity Exchange (OIX) builds trust in online identity.
Jerry Brito
Executive Director of Coin Center
Jerry Brito is executive director of Coin Center, a non-profit research and advocacy center focused on the public policy issues facing cryptocurrency technologies such as Bitcoin. Previously he directed the Technology Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and served as adjunct professor of law at George Mason University. His research has focused on technology and Internet policy, copyright, and the regulatory process. Jerry is the recipient of the Public Knowledge IP3 Award and was named one of Washington’s 100 top tech leaders by Washingtonian magazine and to the POLITICO 50 list of D.C. influencers. He lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his wife Kathleen O’Hearn and their dog Jerkface.
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About Coin Center: Court Innovations develops and implements online negotiation systems for courts and constituents.
Randi Parker
Senior Director of CompTIA
Randi Parker focuses on cybersecurity as well as workforce development issues including IT and cybersecurity job training and certification, and immigration reform. She advocates on behalf of the IT industry to members of Congress, the Executive Branch and government agencies. Ms. Parker serves on the Executive Committee for the IT-Sector Coordinating Council and is the Board of Directors of the Cybersecurity Credentials Collaborative. Parker also sits on the Advisory Board for the California Cybersecurity Information Sharing Organization. Prior to joining CompTIA, Parker served as director of counsel of federal government relations for TechAmerica, before it was acquired by CompTIA. In this role, Parker was responsible for issues related to cybersecurity, immigration, smart grid, and STEM education. She managed various association committees while actively lobbying on Capitol Hill. Parker began her career in Washington as legislative counsel to Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ). She was the Congressman’s lead staffer on the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee, as well as the office attorney. In addition, she was responsible for judiciary, immigration, national security, and foreign relations issues. Parker graduated cum laude from American University and holds a law degree from New York Law School.
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About CompTIA: Computing Technology Industry Association focuses on advancing the growth of the information technology industry.
Jim Lewis
Director, Strategic Technology Program of Center for Strategic and International Studies
James Andrew Lewis is a Senior Vice President and Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, he worked at the Departments of State and Commerce. He was the advisor for the 2010, 2013 and 2015 United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Information Security and leads a long-running Track II dialogue on cybersecurity with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. Lewis has authored many publications and has testified numerous times before Congress.
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About Center for Strategic and International Studies: Center for Strategic and International Studies is a non-profit organization conducting research, analysis and develops policy initiatives.
James Lewis
Senior Fellow & Program Director of Center for Strategic and International Studies
James (Jim) Lewis is a Senior Fellow and Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, he worked at the Departments of State and Commerce as a Foreign Service officer and as a member of the Senior Executive Service. His government experience includes work on Asian politico-military issues, as a negotiator on conventional arms and technology transfers, and on military and intelligence-related technologies. Jim led the U.S. delegation to the Wassenaar Arrangement Experts Group on advanced civil and military technologies and was the rapporteur for the UN Group of Government Experts on Information Security for their successful 2010, 2013 and 2015 sessions.
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About Center for Strategic and International Studies: Center for Strategic and International Studies is a non-profit organization conducting research, analysis and develops policy initiatives.
Dahna goldstein
Board of Directors of JustGive
Dahna Goldstein (she/her) is committed to increasing access to capital for world-changing organizations. As the Director of Halcyon Angels, a regional network of angel investors, she is helping to build the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, building on experience as a social entrepreneur and advisor to social impact organizations.
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About Halcyon: Destation for Online Charitable Giving
Emily McMahan
Executive Member of the Board of Directors of Bunker Labs
Emily McMahan launched Bunker Labs DC and is the Director of Capitol Post. Prior to creating Capitol Post, Emily served as a partner and Chief Financial Officer at Halfaker and Associates, LLC; a successful start-up technology firm serving the federal government. As CFO, Emily was responsible for all company’s financial operations, including corporate accounting, financial strategy, and business planning. After graduation from West Point, Emily was commissioned as a military police officer, and her military experience includes combat deployments supporting Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Noble Eagle. Emily holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. She’s an active member of the local community and has lived in the area for eight years with her husband, two sons, and daughter.
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About : Bunker Labs provides a peer-learning environment for veteran entrepreneurs.
Jamika Burge
Director of Assessment Technology Product and Research of Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Jamika Burge serves as the director of assessment technology product and research for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. She oversees the Smarter App suite of open source software as well as leads efforts to identify, prioritize, and manage system requirements using a user research approach. She is also responsible for developing a strategic vision to sustain and enhance the Smarter Balanced assessment system to better improve teaching and learning among member states. Burge has served as a technical and research program management professional to a number of educational and government organizations, which is complemented by her teaching experience at the college level. Her research interests lie in human-computer interaction (HCI), specifically in the design of technologies that support a range of communication and interaction needs. She uses a variety of user research methods (attitudinal and behavioral; qualitative and quantitative, etc.) to assess user behavior, needs, and motivations. She is active in computer science education and STEM preparedness efforts, providing expertise for a host of funded programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Computing Research Association (CRA), including those seeking to broaden participation in computer science. Burge holds a Ph.D. in computer science, with a focus on human-computer interaction (HCI) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
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About Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is a state-led consortium that develops next-generation assessments.
Martha Liggett, Esq.
Executive Director of American Society of Hematology
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About American Society of Hematology: Provides educational materials for scientists, doctors, and patients.
Anastasia Christman
Deputy Program Director of National Employment Law Project
Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst, joined NELP in 2011, after nine years of working with the Service Employees International Union. She has worked with labor unions and community groups to design responsible development policies and to promote living wage jobs in service industries. She has lobbied at the federal, state and local levels on behalf of working people. She earned a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2000.
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About National Employment Law Project: National Employment Law Project is a national advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers.
Anastasia Christman
Deputy Program Director of National Employment Law Project
Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst, joined NELP in 2011, after nine years of working with the Service Employees International Union. She has worked with labor unions and community groups to design responsible development policies and to promote living wage jobs in service industries. She has lobbied at the federal, state and local levels on behalf of working people. She earned a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2000.
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About National Employment Law Project: National Employment Law Project is a national advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers.
Amanda Bennett
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and Investigative Journalist Director of the VOA, Founder of TheDream.US
Amanda Bennett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, investigative journalist and editor. Through 2013, she was Executive Editor, Bloomberg News. She was also co-founder of Bloomberg News’ Women’s project. She was editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer from June, 2003, to November, 2006, and prior to that was editor of the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky. She also served for three years as managing editor/projects for The Oregonian in Portland. Bennett served as a Wall Street Journal reporter and editor for more than 20 years. A graduate of Harvard College, she held numerous posts at the Journal, including auto industry reporter in Detroit in the late 70s and early 80s, Pentagon and State Department reporter, Beijing correspondent, management editor/reporter, national economics correspondent and, finally, chief of the Atlanta bureau until 1998, when she moved to The Oregonian. Most recently, she has been a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Bennett shared the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting with her Journal colleagues, and in 2001 led a team from The Oregonian to a Pulitzer for public service. Projects by the Bloomberg Projects and Investigations team won numerous awards, including Loeb, Polk, Barlett & Steele, Headliners, Society of American Business Editors and Writers and Overseas Press Club Awards. She is the author of six books including “In Memoriam” (1998), co-authored with Terence B. Foley; “The Man Who Stayed Behind” (1993), co-authored with Sidney Rittenberg; “Death of the Organization Man” (1991) and “The Quiet Room” (1996), co-authored with Lori Schiller. “The Cost of Hope,” her memoir of the battle she and Foley, her late husband, fought against his kidney cancer, was published in June, 2012 by Random House.
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About TheDream.US, Voice of America: TheDream.US is a scholarship fund that offers individual students scholarship aid to help them cover the cost of tuition, fees, and books.
Courtney Chapin
Executive Director of The Better Angels Society
Courtney Chapin is Chief of Staff – Office of the Chairman at National Endowment for the Humanities.
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About The Better Angels Society: The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization supports documentary films.
Brooks Rainwater
Senior Executive and Director, Center for City Solutions of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC, National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Heidi Goldberg
Director, Economic Opportunity & Financial Empowerment of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Janice Janice Pauline
Director, Center for Conferences, Education & Training of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Clarence Anthony
Executive Director of National League of Cities – NLC
Clarence Anthony served as the Mayor of South Bay, FL for 24 years. He is known as a creative and thoughtful leader in his community. He is considered an expert in citizen engagement and techniques that build a “sense of community” within cities. Mr. Anthony has been on the forefront of politics in the United States and internationally for the past 20 years.
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Claire Reiss
Program Director NLC-RISC of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Christiana McFarland
Senior Manager & Research Director of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Michael Wallace
Program Director Federal Advocacy Housing & Community Development of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Mary Gordon
Program Director of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Yucel Ors
Federal Advocacy Program Director, Public Safety of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
James Brooks
Director City Solutions and Applied Research of National League of Cities – NLC
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About National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.
Kaveh Mirani
Board of Director of National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
Kaveh Mirani is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in textile and hospitality industries. Kaveh holds a Ph.D in economics from the University of Chicago, an M.A from University of London, Birkbeck College and a B.Sc in physics from Tehran University. He worked as a senior analyst for the Development and Investment Bank of Iran and served as a second lieutenant in the Iranian military prior to the revolution. Dr. Mirani has taught undergraduate economics at the University of Chicago and at the School of Business at the Miami University of Ohio. He worked as a research fellow at the Center for the Study of the Economy and State at the Booth School of Business and has done extensive research on the economics of revolutions, economic models of interest group politics and has written on women and revolution in Iran. Dr. Mirani co-founded Iran Committee for Democratic Action and Human Rights in 1980 and has served at the board of directors of Winnetka Chamber of Commerce. He is currently president of Winneka Foods Inc. and owns a well known French restaurant in Winnetka, IL.
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About : The National Iranian American Council is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
Forough Parvizian
Board of Director of National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
Dr. Forough Parvizian-Yazdani is a dentist in Northern Virginia. She earned a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in International Affairs from George Washington University. After graduation, she worked as a research assistant at Walter Reed Army Hospital for a year before proceeding to Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery where she earned a DDS degree. She also pursued a Masters in Public Health at Columbia University School of Public Health. Dr. Yazdani acquired her residency training in General Dentistry at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. She held the position of Clinical and Research Instructor at Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery for two years. She conducted research and published papers on the effect of menopause on periodontal disease and the presence of oral pathogens in children and women diagnosed with AIDS. Dr. Yazdani received the Great Falls Community Service Award for education on preventive oral health. She is a member of the American Dental Association, Northern VA Dental Society, and Washington Iranian Dental Society, and serves as the Dental Care Provider for ChildHelp Northern VA Chapter. She is a strong believer in preventive oral health and its positive effect on the overall health of an individual. She is a very active member of the Metro Washington, DC Iranian-American community, often hosting events at her home. She coaches two soccer teams, leads her daughter’s Girl Scout troop and is active on the PTA. She served on the Smithsonian’s Nowruz Organizing Committee for 2008 and 2009. She recently joined the board of MedicalVibe Foundation, whose primary goal is to provide humanitarian, medical missions in the United States and internationally.
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About : The National Iranian American Council is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
Jamal Abdi
Policy Director of National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
Jamal Abdi joined the National Iranian American Council as Policy Director in November 2009, directing NIAC’s efforts to monitor policies and legislation, and to educate and advocate on behalf of the Iranian-American community. Abdi joined NIAC’s team following his work in the US Congress as Policy Advisor to Representative Brian Baird (D-WA). As one of a small number of Iranian Americans working on the Hill, he served as a Congressional advisor, liaison, and expert on foreign affairs, immigration, and defense. Prior to coming to DC, Abdi worked in his home state of Washington as a field organizer for national Congressional elections, coordinating and establishing grassroots campaign efforts in Seattle and Bellevue. He received his B.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Relations.Jamal has written for The New York Times, CNN, Foreign Policy, The Hill, The Progressive and Public Service Europe, and blogs at The Huffington Post and at www.niacinsight.com. He is a frequent guest contributor in print, radio, and television, including appearances on Al Jazeera, RT America, NPR, BBC Radio, and VOA.
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About National Iranian American Council (NIAC): The National Iranian American Council is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
Paymaun Lotfi
Board of Director of National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
Dr. Paymaun Lotfi is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal surgery, trauma/fracture care, joint replacement, sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery. A native of Northern Virginia, he completed his undergraduate degree at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania majoring in both Biology and Economics. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Subsequently, Dr. Lotfi completed his five-year training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. He was an orthopedic surgery chief resident at Cook County Hospital and Christ Hospital Medical centers, both busy level I trauma facilities. He obtained his sub-specialty fellowship training, in Spinal Surgery, at Northwestern University Hospital Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Lotfi has authored numerous papers on orthopedic surgery, as well as spinal surgery. He has also participated in instructional seminars demonstrating advanced surgical techniques. He is the recipient of numerous scientific awards in fields of basic science and biology as well as clinical orthopedics.
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About : The National Iranian American Council is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
Maria Davis
Director – Marketing of Swell Fundraising
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About Swell Fundraising: Swell Fundraising provides event fundraising software solution to nonprofit organizations around the U.S.
Kimberly Charis
Director of School Climate, Discipline, and Equity of National Association of State Boards of Education
Kimberly is the director of NASBE’s school climate, discipline, and equity portfolio. She provides strategic direction for the organization’s advocacy work to ensure that all students receive equal educational opportunities. This includes strengthening the capacity of state boards of education to create policies that improve student outcomes and reduce their involvement in the juvenile justice system. She also works to foster collaborative partnerships between stakeholders in state and local governments and within non-profit and private sector organizations. Her work focuses primarily on monitoring the progress of states’ school climate and discipline policies and providing technical assistance to eliminate disciplinary disparities. Kimberly also promotes innovation and business development for NASBE’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools and is currently working to expand strategic partnerships around youth sports concussion “return-to-learn” policies. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Spelman College and a master of science degree in social policy and law from University of Pennsylvania.
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About National Association of State Boards of Education: The NASBE is a nonprofit 501(c)3 association that represents state and territorial boards of education.
Valerie Norville
Editorial Director of National Association of State Boards of Education
Valerie Norville is NASBE’s editorial director, in charge of editing and producing NASBE publications, including its reports and The State Education Standard. She is an editor and publishing manager with 30 years’ experience producing content that makes cutting-edge research and technical expertise accessible to policy audiences. Previously, she was director of publications for the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she produced reports and books and launched its ebook program. Before that, she was director of publications and web development at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
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About National Association of State Boards of Education: The NASBE is a nonprofit 501(c)3 association that represents state and territorial boards of education.
Winona Hao
Director of Early Learning of National Association of State Boards of Education
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About National Association of State Boards of Education: The NASBE is a nonprofit 501(c)3 association that represents state and territorial boards of education.
Renee Lang
Communications Director of National Association of State Boards of Education
Renee Rybak Lang is NASBE’s communication director, overseeing all of the association’s communications efforts. Lang has worked in education policy for more than 10 years and brings a wealth of strategic communications, online, and social media expertise to NASBE. Lang also regularly advises education nonprofits on social media and web strategy and has presented at NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference and the PIE-Network’s annual conference, among others. Most recently, Lang was communications manager of Education Sector, where she developed integrated communications strategies to reach policymakers and other key audiences, and established the think tank’s award-winning social media and web presence. Prior to this, she was special projects coordinator for the 21st Century Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) and served as an aide to New York State Senator George Maziarz, where she worked on constituent issues and legislation. Born and raised in western New York, Lang is a graduate of Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y., where she studied political science.
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About National Association of State Boards of Education: The NASBE is a nonprofit 501(c)3 association that represents state and territorial boards of education.
Craig Spiezle
Executive Director & President of Online Trust Alliance
Craig works at OTA Alliance. He is recognized as a thought leader and pioneer on the convergence of interactive marketing, society and digital commerce. He frequently briefs members of Congress representing the roles and shared responsibility of members of the ecosystem and the importance of meaningful self-regulation. Prior to OTA, Craig spent over a decade at Microsoft. He holds a Bachelors of Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a MBA from Seattle University.
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About Online Trust Alliance: A non-profit with the mission to enhance online trust and empower users while promoting the innovation and vitality of the Internet.
Elisabeth Rhyne
Managing Director, Center for Financial Inclusion of Accion
Board Member at Arlington Arts Center.
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About Accion: Accion is a global nonprofit that gives people access to financial tools needed to improve lives.
Kate Edwards
Founder & Executive Director of International Game Developers Association
Kate Edwards is the Chief Experience Officer of SetJetters.
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About Geogrify, International Game Developers Association, MultiLingual Media, SetJetters, The Global Game Jam: International Game Developers Association is a non-profit organization for game software developers.
William Beatty
Washington Director of Securities of North American Securities Administrators Association(NASAA)
William Beatty is President & Board of Directors at NASAA.
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About North American Securities Administrators Association(NASAA): North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection.
Joseph Brady
Acting Executive Director and General Counsel of North American Securities Administrators Association(NASAA)
Joseph Brady is a Executive Director at NASAA.
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About North American Securities Administrators Association(NASAA): North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection.
Larry Akey
Director of Communications of The Constitution Project
Larry Akey is the Director of Communications. He has spent much of his career at the intersection of public policy and advocacy communications, developing outreach campaigns that get results. Prior to joining The Constitution Project, Larry worked as Director of Corporate Communications for a mid-sized private education company, as Vice President for State Affairs at the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform and as executive editor of AHIP’s Coverage, an award-winning healthcare magazine. He has written for Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, guided communications for U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (MT) and served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Rick Hill (MT-All). Before moving to the DC-area, Larry operated a full-service public relations and government affairs consulting firm in Helena, Montana, and also served as Chief Deputy to the Montana Secretary of State. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in resource conservation and economics at the University of Montana.
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About The Constitution Project: The Constitution Project is a nonprofit organization that creates bipartisan consensus in support of constitutional safeguards.
David Irvine
Board of Directors of The Constitution Project
David Irvine is a Salt Lake City attorney in private practice, a former Republican state legislator, and a retired Army brigadier general. Irvine enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1962, and received a direct commission in 1967 as a strategic intelligence officer.He maintained a faculty assignment for 18 years with the Sixth U.S. Army Intelligence School, teaching prisoner-of-war interrogation and military law. He was the Deputy Commander for the 96th Regional Readiness Command. He served four terms in the Utah House of Representatives.
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About : The Constitution Project is a nonprofit organization that creates bipartisan consensus in support of constitutional safeguards.
Paul Saunders
Board of Directors Emeritus of The Constitution Project
Paul C. Saunders is Board of Directors Emeritus at The Constitution Project.
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About : The Constitution Project is a nonprofit organization that creates bipartisan consensus in support of constitutional safeguards.
Thomas Carroll
Treasurer and Director, Agriculture Portfolio of Global Development Incubator
Tom Carroll is the Treasurer of GDI and the Director of GDI’s Agriculture Portfolio, including the Initiative for Smallholder Finance and GDI’s role as the learning partner for the MasterCard Foundation’s Fund for Rural Prosperity. He has extensive strategic advisory experience in a wide range of industries, including agriculture, health, media, telecommunications, consumer goods, and financial services. Previously, he was a Partner at Dalberg where his recent work focused on the agricultural sector and included efforts such as a comprehensive market analysis of global and sub-Saharan Africa horticulture markets; market analysis, stakeholder outreach, facilitation, and investment planning in the cashew market; and developing public-private partnerships across a host of commodity markets. He has also led projects on the commercialization of agriculture technologies and the development of permanent mechanisms for enabling technology commercialization in frontier markets. Prior to joining Dalberg, Tom was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington DC, where he helped lead the strategic planning/performance management practice. He worked on program design and implementation of a partnership for supply chain management sponsored by the US Agency for International Development, in addition to projects for other federal agencies. Tom holds an MBA from Yale School of Management, where he was awarded the Samuel B. Sutphin Fellowship, and a BA in government from the University of Notre Dame.
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About Global Development Incubator: Global Development Incubator supports ideas, organizations, and initiatives that aspire to create large-scale social change.
Nazanin Ash
Board of Directors of Global Development Incubator
Nazanin Ash was most recently Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, advancing political and economic reform and partnership initiatives in the Middle East. Prior to this role, she served as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff from June 2007 to April 2012, designing policy initiatives to strengthen U.S. government aid effectiveness and approaches to political and economic development. Nazanin also served as principal advisor and chief of staff to the first Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, developing and supervising the implementation of key strategies and tools for U.S. foreign assistance reform and allocating U.S. foreign assistance resources. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, Nazanin worked for ActionAid-Kenya, one of the largest rights-based NGOs in Kenya and a leading advocacy and local capacity-building institution. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was awarded a Public Service Fellowship, an Imagitas Fellowship, and a Sheldon Fellowship. She also holds a BA in political science from Bryn Mawr College.
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About : Global Development Incubator supports ideas, organizations, and initiatives that aspire to create large-scale social change.
Cable Green
Director of Open Education of Creative Commons
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About Creative Commons: Creative Commons helps you share your knowledge and creativity with the world.
Cable Green
Director of Open Education of Creative Commons
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About Creative Commons: Creative Commons helps you share your knowledge and creativity with the world.
Frank Morris
Executive Director of Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Frank Morris is the former Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and former Dean of Graduate Studies at Morgan State University.
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About Congressional Black Caucus Foundation: The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy, research and educational institute that
Steve Groeninger
Senior Director of Communications & Marketing of National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
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About National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is dedicated to honoring and remembering the service.
Lynn Lyons Wynne
Senior Director of Programs of National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
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About National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is dedicated to honoring and remembering the service.
Shawn Collins
Director, The Energy Project of Opportunity Council
Shawn Collins is the Director of the Energy Project at Opportunity Council. The Energy Project, a collaborative initiative between the Washington Community Action Partnership and the State of Washington Department of Commerce, strives to improve affordable access to energy services for low-income households across Washington State. Shawn is also Adjunct Faculty at Western Washington University where he teaches energy policy and politics at the Institute for Energy Studies, a newly created interdisciplinary program. He has worked in the non-profit sector for the past seventeen years with a variety of organizations and on multiple issues including homelessness and housing, aniti-hunger programs, telecommunications, and energy. He is a 2002 graduate of Eastern Illinois University, where he received a BA in English Literature.
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About Opportunity Council: The Opportunity Council is a private, non-profit Community Action Agency serving homeless and low-income families and individuals.
James Pura
Board of Directors of Space Frontier Foundation
James Pura is Board of Directors at Space Frontier Foundation.
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About : Space Frontier Foundation is an organization of people dedicated to opening the Space Frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible.